Jessica Lynn Original Design Team

I have been waiting to post this until Jessica Lynn made the announcement on her blog, which I saw this morning, so now I can share!!

I was chosen for a spot on the 2008 design team for JessicaLynnOriginal stamps! Woo hoo!! I know, I know, I am going to be a very busy girl, but I really do love the images for all three companies that I design for so it's no hardship! Each company have their own style & flair with so many applications for their images! I am truly lucky to be working with such amazing stamp artists & of course my new design team sistahs. :-)

The other members of the JLO Design Team (alphabetical by first name) are:

Alex Eaton
Barb Kaszuba
Barb Pritschau
Cathy Indelicato
Kelly Sampson
Melissa Martin
Nancy Beauchamp
Tammy Hershberger
Patti Chesky

ETA: I added links to a few of the ladies' blogs. I don't know everyone's yet, but when I get all the info I'll add a blogroll section for JLO to the left side here so the links are always there to check out!

Shaken or Stirred?

I have such fun with this martini stamp I picked up at the Michael's Dollar Spot a few years ago. I haven't used it in awhile, but my exploits with funny alcohol-related sayings in my "Pool Boy" card (see below) inspired me to revisit this idea that I've had floating around in my head *for-evah*.

"I like it Dirty". Get it? It's a dirty martini. C'mon, that's FUNNY!

I did the wording on the computer and printed directly onto the cardstock.

The supplies and steps to creating this card:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Kraft and Cameo Coral. Basic Grey patterned paper.

Ink: Palette Noir, Burnt Umber and Haystack.

Accessories: Bunches of Copic and Prismacolor alcohol markers, twill tape, Bella Baubles in pink grapefruit, pink glaze gel pen, mini glue dots (boy do I use a LOT of these suckers), foam tape, Marvy Mega and Giga scallop square punches, Tonic distressing tool, Crop-a-dile and eyelets (which you can barely see).

PPRS Design Team

Happy Saturday everyone! I do have a card to share but I only just finished it and didn't do the photo mojo yet, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. So in the meantime I'll share some more faaabulous news, how's that?!

Back in October I applied for a spot on the 2008 Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps design team, which was to be announced for the first of the year. Well, I found out earlier this week that I was chosen!! Woo hoo! I wasn't sure if it was an "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you" deal until Nicole made the announcement on her site, but some of the other marvously talented ladies have announced it, so I figured what the heck!!

I am so, so excited to work with Nicole and her fabulous images. If you have not seen PPRS before you are missing out. Gaw-jous designs and nice, deeply etched rubbah. Check them out, and of course check back here often for all the projects I'll be making using my new goodies. I hope that the things I design will inspire you!

Check out the sidebar where I've added a listing of all the Prickley Pear Girls' blogs for you to browse as well!

I am not sure I have everyone included as I don't have a complete list yet, but if I find I've missed someone I will come back and add them! Congratulations to everyone -- I can't WAIT to get to know you all! Without further ado, and in no particular order, my DT-sistah for PPRS are *drumroll*:

Angie Pearl
Jeanie Sunderman
Pam Carriker
Vicki Parson
Linda Black
Mary Coleman
Nicole La Cour (owner)

Oh Pool Boy...

Oh my, do I *evah* love LOVE the new Happy Hour set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I have soooo many ideas running through my head for using this set - between the *awesome* hibiscus flowers (2 sizes!!!) and this hurricane drink glass with lots of accessories, I am going to be busy....

The entire time I was making this card I had that Jimmy Buffett song running through my head. You know the one, c'mon -- sing along!

"If you like Pina Coladas....and getting caught in the rain...."

There is a ton of sparkle and shine on this card, the photo does not do it justice. I have a close-up of the hurricane glass below.

This card ended up being a bit on the complicated side, but I think a lot of that was just me chaning my mind mid-stride, LOL! The drink and the lime are stamped in StazOn Jet Black onto a window sheet, colored with Prismacolor alcohol markers and cut out. To adhere the glass to the white circle (Marvy Mega size - pink) I used Stardust Stickles, so there's lots of shine and no adhesive lines. I cut the lime in the center and slipped it over the top with a mini glue dot. The scallop punch is the Marvy Giga size (purple) and I added the doodles freehand with a lime green glitter gel pen and popped up the whole thing with dimensionals.

I outlined the stuck-on drink with my Brick White Prismacolor marker and added the green shadow freehand, just to spruce up the main image a bit. The purple designer paper is from Die Cuts With a View (I can't remember which collection) and it is also glittery, mostly in the flower centers. The ribbon and brads are from Hobby Lobby. I made the sentiment on my computer.

Doodle Wedding Wishes Card

Today I'll be posting yesterday's card AND today's card since I didn't get a chance to take a picture of this wedding card yesterday. So consider this Thursday's post, LOL!

Here's my first card using the Doodles 4-German/Bauern set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. This one felt like it took *forever* to make because I actually did 8 of these for a monthly card swap that I am in. The sketch is from Splitcoast Stampers' weekly card sketch challenge, this one is SC155. It actually started out COMPLETELY different from how it ended up -- don't you love when the art has a mind of its own??

Lots of shimmer and shine on this one - it's a bit hard to see in the photo so I took some closeups (see below). The heart/flower punchies are popped up on dimensionals and have stickles on the flowers to give it more depth. I also used stickles to follow the swirls on the embossed background. I colored the flowers using my alcohol markers and the colorless blender pen for alcohol markers - I am FINALLY getting the hang of using that thing (I think....)

This project uses the following supplies:

Stamps: Doodles 4-German/Bauern set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela - uses large swirl and flowery heart images. Sentiment by Stamping Bella.

Cardstock: All Stampin' Up! - Blush Blossom, Bravo Burgundy, Basic Grey & Shimmery White. Patterned paper from a multi-pack I got at the Target Dollar Spot *at least* a year ago, LOL!

Ink: StazOn Stone Grey.

Accessories: Cuttlebug & D'Vine Swirl embossing folder, Prismacolor & Copic Ciao alcohol markers, Stardust Stickles, SU scallop punch, 1-1/2" circle punch, 1-1/4" circle punch.

Which is the Very Best Black Ink Pad?

This is a question that comes up a *LOT* in the stamping world, and a discussion/debate that I have had with many of my stampin’ friends. Because, let’s be honest, the black ink pad is pretty much the backbone of paper crafting; and even the most talented stamper can’t produce quality work with inferior tools.

Now let me put a disclaimer here before I continue. I love, love Stampin’ Up!’s classic and craft ink, cardstock, and markers. The colors are rich and beautiful and cover quite a spectrum, the cardstock is nice and heavy, and everything coordinates, which is a huge deal for me. I will *always* use SU colored cardstock and inks for my projects.

But let’s be honest -- the black ink pad is not cutting it. Not even close. It’s not even BLACK for crying out loud. And it’s not fully waterproof. And it always, always stains my stamps (not that I care so much about that, as long as they stamp a nice, clean image, they can live with me, LOL!). Do you know what’s interesting about these statements? I never really knew it how bad it was until recently! I knew that was never completely happy with the results when I used the pad, but what could I do? I didn’t know enough about any other choices to start throwing money at the problem just to test out other options that may not have been any better.

There ARE options out there though! Good ones! I have tried all the ones I am going to give the gold star discussion to (below) except the India Ink, but I only own two of the four. So some of the info here has been provided by friends during the above-mentioned discussions. ;-) They all have slightly different attributes, so you will have to choose the one (or ones) that work best with your particular style or application.

In no particular order, the best black ink pads on today’s market (IMHO of course, and that of my BFFs) are Palette Hybrid Noir by Stewart Superior, Versafine Black Onyx by Tsukineko, India Ink Black by Stewart Superior and StazOn Jet Black by Tsukineko.

Palette Hybrid Noir - This one is my personal favorite for best all-around black ink pad, and the one I always reach for. It is a non-solvent ink (i.e. not StazOn -- no stink and doesn’t dry out right away) and works on every surface. It’ll dry fast on porous surfaces (wood, paper, chipboard), but if you use it on fabrics or non-porous surfaces you will need to heat set it. It *is* waterproof and works great for water coloring and it doesn’t bleed.

Versafine Black Onyx - This is an instant dry pigment ink, so it is *very* juicy, use a very light touch or you‘ll have a big mess on your hands (literally!). It is only good on matte-finish papers (not glossy), although I have heard that you definitely need to heat set it on SU‘s Whisper White or Very Vanilla, which I know I don‘t have the patience for. But for that potential drawback, it is said to give the most rich, detailed black impression. It is also waterproof and works well for water coloring.

India Ink Black - This is supposed to be the fastest drying black ink on the market. It is a permanent ink that can be used on all surfaces and will not bleed or feather. Recommended for water coloring. [This is the one I have not tried myself, although I am including it in the list and passing along the info as it seems to come well recommended].

StazOn Jet Black - Another stamp room staple as far as I am concerned. You can stamp on ANYTHING using StazOn and it…well…staz on. I mainly use it for stamping on non-porous surfaces -- dominos, plastic, window sheets, shrink plastic, metal, glass, coated paper, etc. It can also be used on paper with good, crisp results, I just don’t use it as much for that because it’s harder to clean off the rubbah and requires an extra step (again, because it staz on…LOL -- invest in StazOn Cleaner, you'll be much happier). It is a solvent ink though (strong smell and your pad will dry out faster than water-based inks), and some people find that a drawback. It’s very fast drying and also good for *water coloring*. I have noticed that wet work like colored pencils/gamsol or alcohol markers will cause the ink to run.

Just Dropping By To Say...

Merry Christmas to everyone!! We have having a very low key day here with just DH, me and the boys. DS #1 is having lots of fun with all of his Christmas toys of course. I am hoping for some time to stamp at some point today - we'll see, it'll be a tie between stamping and napping as DS #2 didn't sleep too much last night. Ah well, what can you do?

Look forward to tomorrow's post - Which Black Ink is Best? Lots of good info coming up!

Fun Holidoodles!

Here's the first card I made with my new Holidoodle Sentiment Set from Purple Onion Designs. I am not normally a *huge* fan of doodle-type stamps, but this one jumped out and me and I am just LOVING it! It's so versatile and fun.

For once you can see the sparkle and shine of the Shimmery White cardstock that I used for the two main images. The colors are (Stampin' Up!) Wild Wasabi, Bravo Burgundy and Soft Sky. That's the snowflake embossing folder for the Cuttlebug (CAN NOT live without this machine!!) and I rubbed white and burgundy ink over the top of the wasabi c/s.

The larger snowflakes are not part of the set but are an individual stamp from Purple Onion. The ribbon is from RABOM. Rhinestone brad from SU. The larger snowflakes are stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with "Elfin Mist" (nice name huh??) EP from the LSS - Stamping Jazzy Style. "Merry" is stamped in craft ink and also heat embossed using clear EP. Just a fun and easy card b/c I had a few minutes and was in serious stamping withdrawal - I HAD to create or go crazy!

My Messy, Messy Desk!

Oh, I am such a messy stamper! I have to drag out so many things every time I make a project. So I thought I would take a quick photo to share with you so you can all see for yourselves! What do you think? *wink*

All About The Essential Glue Pad

I have had several people ask me about The Essential Glue Pad by Tsukineko, which I have mentioned in previous posts when talking about card recipes. I will start by saying this is a FABULOUS product and everyone needs one. LOL. Here's why...

The Essential Glue Pad is basically glue in an ink pad. So you can now apply glitter and other products in the exact image of your stamps, instead of stamping with ink and then trying to add glitter with 2-way glue. Now, I am aware that you can get the same results by using Heat and Stick powder, however, with the glue pad you don't need 2 steps, AND best of all, you don't have to heat to activate or to set the adhesive after you apply your product!! It doesn't get any better than that.

You can use the glue pad to apply glitter (ultrafine has best results), pigment powders (i.e. Pearl Ex and similar), chalks, and I have heard, metallic foil flecks, but I have not personally tried that. It works like this:

1. The pad comes uninked (unglued! but I will use the term "inked" b/c it makes for an easier read) with a reinker, just like StazOn Opaque pads. To use, apply glue over the pad. You can ink up as much or as little of the pad as you want at a time. I usually do about half the pad. It will start to dry out between uses so you will need to reapply if it starts to get dry. That's ok, the reinkers for the pad are cheap and well worth it. Plus, it doesn't take much to ink it up anyway.

2. Once it's inked up and ready, just take your stamp and tap it on the pad surface just like an ink pad. When you have full and even coverage, stamp onto your paper. TIP: Like craft ink, the glue is a bit on the gooey side, especially if you were liberal when inking up the pad. Be careful not to overink, especially for fine line/detail stamps, or it will look fat and smudgy after you apply your medium to the paper.

3. Apply glitter, Pearl Ex or whatever you'd like over the image. No need to heat set - once it's dry you're ready to go!

4. Clean your stamp like normal.

A note about using the glue with other products - this is NOT sticky strip/tacky tape! I tried it with microbeads but when the glue dried the beads would come right off if you touch it. So stick to fine glitters and powders and you'll have very happy results.

Here are a couple of cards that I've made that utilize the glue pad. Season's Greetings #6, Season's Greetings #1.

Hope this helps!!

Frozen Tundra

Not stamping related (at least not until I do the scrapbook pages!) but I wanted to share a photo from our pilgrimage to Green Bay last weekend and the visit to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Packers v. Raiders and our first ever live Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau. We were within spittin' distance of the greatness (i.e. Brett Favre).

So here I am ------->

close to the beginning of the game obviously as my coat is not even zipped! It was about 18 degrees that day, we even saw a few snowflakes in the third quarter.

Photo specifics - I am wearing:

-3 pairs of gloves,
-4 tops,
-1 parka,
-4 pairs of pants,
-2 pairs of socks,
-1 pair snow boots,
-1 neck scarf, and
-1 hat

Yikes!! But I have to say - I was not cold at all!!! I had to have at least one photo of each of us so I can put that info down in the scrapbook. Baby, it's *COLD* outside.....ROFLMAO!

Gina K.'s New Store!

In a v. serious "...but I waaaaaant to...." moment for me, my friend Heather and I went over to Gina K.'s new store to have a peek at things today. With all the kiddies, no less. My absolute proudest moment yet as a mommy when DS #1 goes over to one of the tables where all kinds of goodies were laid out for make-n-takes and tells me "mommy, I want to stamp".

Seriously. Could NOT have been cuter!! Makes up for all the moving around of Prima flowers he did as he inspected each and every one because "they're pretty".

Anywhoo....she just opened and was having a holiday open house. A lot of you are probably familiar with her online store, but she has retial space now too and will be doing classes and open stamp nights (yahoo!). The store also carries her own line of stamps (so cute you guys, I love love them and am building up *quite* the collection, let me say)....plus lots of great products that are hard to find except online. Just to name a few - Palette ink pads (the bestest ink pads around!!), the full color spectrum of StazOn (why oh why can't most shop owners see beyond Black, Brown, Blue, Green, Red?), Marvy punches, Cuttlebug, Bazzil cardstock, alterables, EZ Mount, lots of shiny bottles of Stickles, etc. etc. Anyway, it's quite the fab digs, and Gina is the nicest gal EVAH! So all my stampin' girls in Mad-town, you must swing by. For everyone else, it appears to me (not verified!) that most if not everything that you can buy in the store you can also buy online - with free shipping over $35! Have fun. :-D

Naughty or Nice?

DH and I are going to be heading north to the (even more) frozen tundra tomorrow to see our very first ever LIVE Packers game at Lambeau Field. I had been to a couple of games in Minneapolis when I was in college, but never AT Lambeau. So, since we'll be gone all day tomorrow and I won't likely get online at all, I'm posting another card now for your weekend viewing pleasure.

Still working with this Real Red/Basic Gray/light blue combo, in this case it's the old Stampin' Up! retired Bliss Blue b/c after I colored in the stocking with my Prisma markers, the blue was a little bit too dark to look right with Bashful. I love this little Fluffles with the guilty look and the "Coal Again?!" saying. It's just too fun.

I stamped the Flannel Plaid stamp in Versamark on the Bliss Blue then heat embossed it with "Elfin Mist" EP from the LSS. I have had it forever, won a few little pots of their store brand EP awhile back as a door prize and never used it. I LOVE it though, it's so sparkly (like SU's Iridescent Ice EP) but has some color to it also, a light minty green and a light lavender. It looks amazing IRL. Did my ticket corners and added the red brads, the gray grosgrain is from Ribbons and Bows Oh My!. All the coloring is with my beloved Prisma markers. Christmas assortment Prima Flowers from the "Got Flowers?" line. White gel pen on the scallop rings and I put the main image on dimensionals.
Pretty fast card, except for the coloring but overall I think it turned out well. Especially since I had no plan at all when I sat down at the stamp table except to lose myself in stamping for a few precious minutes! LOL!

Season's Greetings #6

Here's a SUER fast card I made the other night using my new favorite thing, the Season's Greetings set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela.

I literally had 10 minutes and so I kept it pretty simple.

The snowflake image is from the Season's Greetings set. The background on the red is Crosshatch from Stampin' Up! (for some reason it didn't show up very well in the picture). The sentiment stamp is from Purple Onion Designs and is too cute!

I stamped the snowflake with The Essential Glue Pad and dumped on some red ultrafine glitter from Art Institute. They have the ABSOLUTE best glitter, hands down! Well worth the extra cost and a little bit goes a long way. Marvy Giga Scallop Circle punch and Mega Circle punch, paper pierced the scallops. Gray grosgrain is from Ribbons and Bows Oh My!. The cardstock is all from Stampin' Up! - Basic Gray, Real Red, Whisper White and Bashful Blue. I also used Real Red classic ink and Stone Gray StazOn.

EnablaBella

Ooooooooohhhhhh......serious enabler alert!!! FREE SHIPPING on orders of $25 and up December 8th and 9th at Stamping Bella!!! Put the coupon code ae64e4 in the voucher field during checkout.

The deal is in honor of the first anniversary of Stamping Bella - wow! Time sure flies. Em has also released 3 new bellas so make sure you check them out before you order!

Season's Greetings #5

Here's the other domino ornament. I made these using the Season's Greetings set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela.

Very similar recipie to the ornament below; I stamped the ornament with black StazOn and colored it with Sharpies. (I have a whole discussion of how I do my masking in another post - search the blog for masking and it'll come up, or check out the "posts by labels" section for "tips").

For this project I stamped the topper first (black StazOn), then masked it and stamped the ornament itself. After the stamping was done I had my darling husband (DH for short!) drill the hole in the domino for me right through the hook area on the topper. Perfect!

After I did all the coloring I covered the whole thing with Tombow Mono Aqua glue and sprinkled in Art Institute gold ultrafine glitter. This was my funky color version - but I like it!

Season's Greetings #4

Ok, I know I missed my upload yesterday - time got away from me rather quickly, DS #1 had a doctor appointment so that took up most of the day. So I'll post a couple projects today to make up for it!

Here's one of two domino ornaments I made with the Season's Greetings set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. Have I mentioned that I LOVE love this set??? LOL!

I stamped the ornament with black StazOn and colored it with Sharpies. The ornament topper was stamped on white c/s and then heat embossed with 3 layers of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) to make it nice and sturdy. I then cut it out and punched out the hole in the top. Attached it right over the top of the ornament using sticky strip (that awesome red liner tape) and threaded the organdy ribbon through the hole. Covered the domino with Tombow Mono Aqua glue and sprinkled in Art Institute red ultrafine glitter. Easy and fun!!

Season's Greetings #3

Here's the next card for the FCD Season's Greetings set. Definitely non-traditional as far as Christmas colors go but I had a lot of fun with it. This is a 5x5 square card.

Ok, card details, let's see.... The small snowflakes on the Glorious Green piece are from the FCD Snow Signs set. I heat embossed them with white EP. The large tonal snowflakes are from the Season's Greetings set. The sentiment is a Michael's $1 stamp from Studio G (the one from this set just didn't fit right on the card when all was said and done.). I heat embossed that with black EP. Ribbon is from the LSS.

The main image was stamped with Palette Noir ink left to right using a mask I made with post-it notes to allow for the overlap. See the next post down for info on how I do my masking. Then I took my Prismacolor markers and found some colors I thought would work together and colored in the ornaments - going for a kind of stained glass look. Sponged the edges of the white c/s with Glorious Green then used the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique to give it sparkle. Layered it onto Summer Sun and Purely Pomegranite c/s and then stamped and colored the ornament tops and cut them out. Punched the holes with the Crop-a-Dile and adhered with dimensionals. Viola!

Even More Enabling!

Straight from FireCracker Designs by Pamela....

PreOrder Sale!!
Dramatic savings when you pre-order this 4x5 set combo!! 'Happy Hour' (January's Scrapbook TakeOut stamp set) and 'Mahalo' will be the last 2 sets released in 2007!! You can pre-order them today, and pay ONLY $14.99 for both!! Then use the coupon code Pam sent out for December and save another $5.00!! (code: 5$OFF)

That's like buying one, and getting the second one for a dollar!!! But hurry, because preorders only last a couple of days and this one expires on December 6th. Regular Price: $8.99 each, combo SPECIAL PREORDER Price: 14.99 before coupon!!! GET IT NOW!

Expires: Dec. 6, 2007
Expected in stock: Dec. 20, 2007

Another Enabler Alert!

Pamela over at FireCracker Designs is having a December special too! For every order you place during the month of December (minimum $10 order), you will get $5 off! Use the coupon code 5$OFF during checkout. You can use this coupon as many times as you like during December. Merry Christmas to ME!

Enabler Alert!

Michele over at Purple Onion Designs is having a great holiday sale! 25% off all rubber stamps through December 9th. She also has a bunch of new stamp designs up as well and they are just adorable! If you haven't checked out her site before, you must click over there right away and see all the goodies. I am not affiliated with them, just a happy customer - I have ordered several times and been quite pleased with the designs, price and stamp quality. Plus her shipping is fast and she's super nice too!

Season's Greetings #2

Here's the next card for the FCD Season's Greetings set. Very simple but I was quite pleased with it. I even went with traditional Christmas colors if you can believe it!! Glorious Green and Real Red, and Shimmery White of course. No card is complete without Shimmery White paper, it is just too yummy for words!

I used craft ink on the ornaments this time, and then put clear embossing powder over the top so they are raised and shiny (hard to see in the pic). Had to mask them so the ornament bulbs didn't overlap with the hanging parts.

I make my masks using post-it notes (stamp near the top so at least part is on the sticky area). I cut them out very carefully using the Stampin' Up! paper snips with the short, sharp blade. Good scissors are essential!! I know it's a bit time consuming the first time you need to mask with a set, but it is an important thing to know in papercrafting and you want things to look right! I like to cut just inside the lines to ensure that you don't have that halo of dead space between the mask and the overstamped image. Then, save the post-it note mask if it's not too gunked up and store it right in the CD case with your stamps! Next time you need to mask something you're all set to go.

I also used the anywhere hole punch and setter to do the eyelets since it was too far in for the crop-a-dile (another absolute must-have tool for all things papercrafting. I mean that literally!).

Season's Greetings #1

Here is the first of the promised projects for my Firecracker Designs December design team. My set was Season's Greetings - and I have to tell you, I LOVE love this set, it's one of my new favorites!!

All stamps are from the Season's Greetings set. All paper is Stampin' Up! - Shimmery White, Brocade Blue, Night of Navy and retired Holiday Thyme designer paper. Silver Encore Ink and The Essential Glue Pad. Can I just say that The Essential Glue Pad is a tool that everyone NEEDS and it works sooooo amazingly well with some of these awesome solid image stamps like the ornament here. Dazzling Diamonds and Art Institute glitter.

Yes, I am still here...

Sorry for the long absence - it has been a little busy here with our new little man making his way into the world! Yes, I'm sure many of you already know by our darling son #2 has finally arrived! His name is Cade. After all that work to stop the contractions we went all the way to 38 and 4/7 weeks! Of course things had to be on his terms so he was born the day before my scheduled c-section {my water broke and away we went}.

Anyway, we are all finally getting settled back in after all the excitement - emergency c-section, ensuing spinal headache, total lack of anything resembling sleep (those are all me); and being adorable and sweet and gaining lots of weight so the doctor doesn't need to see him until he is a month old - yay!!! (those are all Cade).

I'll be working to get my blog updated and back on track. Bear with me, I have at least 6 or 7 projects to post plus some "guest designer" cards to share. It'll be worth the wait!